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Picking Scabs
White Stretchy Plugs
I've always squeezed bumps and blemishes on my skin, but recently I've gone through a period of work-related stress. I was off work for 2 months, during which time my picking and squeezing got worse. I had lots of blemishes on my chest which I squeezed and picked until I had a few nasty little wounds. One of them became quite deep, and I discovered that when I picked the scab off there were a few little white pinhead shapes under it, in the wound. They were screaming out to me to be picked out, but I couldn't do it by hand - I had to use tweezers. Sometimes I found I would need a wool needle to ease the white thing out a bit before the tweezers could get hold of them. When I pulled, a white elasticy thing would stretch and then come out. It was about 2mm long. It was VERY satisfying to pull it out, so I looked for some more in my skin. This made my picking worse, and I now find I am thinking of it quite a lot of the day. I am longing to pull more stretchy white things out of my skin. I put up with quite a bit of discomfort and pain just to get the satisfaction of pulling out these stretchy white plugs. To heal my wounds I use Savlon antiseptic liquid, and they begin to dry up quite quickly. But this is the most tempting time to pick - the scab becomes very crusty and itchy, and I see little white bumps underneath which could be those white plugs I long to pull out. They are itchy and I am dying to pull them out!
I wished someone really had the answer for this condition!!! It's aggravating!!! It's not morgelleans it's not fungal it's not acne I think it's warts!!!
All these different posts with all the same symptoms and nobody can get it right!!! Or maybe doctors just don't care and want to rush you out of the office and not deal with this problem.
I've used it all I have this condition almost 20 years!!! I am now using the apple cider vinegar and showing results but it's painful.
I experience the same. I was diagnosed with Purigo Nodularis - no test to confirm, no treatment - AKA....doctor guess served with a side of hopelessness. Sometimes I was also served with gut-wretching blame from doctors. Many blood tests -mostly normal, but I am deficient of immune components c3, c4, and mannose binding lectin. Not auto-immune, but immune deficiency. History with Staph and Vancomyocin.
Over the past 2-3 years, I have found other non-diagnosable diseases that seem similar. I just found Kyrle Disease. No idea if that is it - another undiagnoseable disease. I have researched many of the above conditions: a form of herpes, thyroid, genetic, infections, staph, candida, morgellons, rheumatoid, blah, blah, blah - the list can go on forever. It's difficult to feel going through this - and research often leads me to feeling even more lost.
For every disease, there has always been a time when doctors could not diagnose. I am starting to think that this - thing - is more evolved than the medical community. I have tried alternative treatments, supplements,etc. That's what happens when doctors/treatments fail us. Right now, I find duct tape on a thick wound to do wonders. Just ordered Lemon balm and L-lysine. May just go into my drawer with all the other things I have tried.
You can find people all over the web with similar symptoms. You have to google different things - but there are many of us out there. We are all over the world. I am yet to find an actual diagnosis in any of these blogs.
Here is what I am proposing - we join together to submit an entry into Crowdmed - a website for medical mysteries. However, being that there appears to be no test for this/us, this may not lead anywhere. We could compile a list of our symptoms and experiences and submit to the CDC in order to push further testing. We could have a documentary made that brings some light to issue.
What do you think?
I totally agree we need help with this problem. Nobody understands unless they suffer from this problem. I get so angry about it. There are to many people with the same problems and no one can figure it out or dr says we've done this to ourselves. Ugh HELP
Just put hydrocolloid dressing on it until it heals. It took me 3 days only, without leaving a scar. If a scar formed, use vitamin e/rose hip oil and apply on heard wound every night. You'll see amazing results!! Hope this helps xx
In reply to Just put hydrocolloid by stella20
* healed
Stella...so you not get the plugs or whatever they can be described as?
In reply to Stella...so you not get the by snipzie
Hi, yes I do have the white-ish stretchy plugs, exactly the same as all mentioned above. But once it forms an open wound, I would quickly put on the hydrocolloid dressing. And later it heals by itself. I guess this trick works for me. I tried to pick it once but I failed to get the whole 'white plug' out.
I use the DuoDerm patches (i buy the 4x4 and cut shape as needed)....but the white plugs will not disappear without having to take them out. Grrrrrrr.
I found out what these are!
Sebaceous hyperplasia
Sgilby....how did you find out it's SH? Do you have an explanation of how it works to produce the plugs and why they're difficult to get rid of? What are tou dpint to deal with yours....could be helpful to us.
q
In reply to Sgilby....how did you find by snipzie
I was diagnosed by my dermatologist.
My condition presents exactly as you all describe.
At first I thought it was acne, but nothing over the counter made any difference. And they never really came to a head like a normal pimple.
My derm said SH is common as we get older- 40 plus.
Linked to hormones. Sebaceous glands are highly androgen sensitive, and, although the number of sebaceous glands remains approximately the same throughout life, their activity and size vary according to age and circulating hormone levels.
the white stretchy plug things are the damaged overgrown oil gland material. that's why the spot doesn't clear up until you get all those damaged plugs out.
it is not any type of acne. It is overgrown and damaged oil glands.
I have been on Spironolactone for about a month and it completely cleared mine up.
But I can't stay on that forever, so at my next apppointment we will talk about long term options.
there is no cure. there are some other interventions to get rid of them like lasers, etc. but no real way of preventing new ones.
The spironolactone in as androgen inhibitor-- my face had gotten so oily since I turned 40. now I am old free and like I said, cleared up the SH in less than a month!
I've literally picked them out. I have both milia and SH. When the SH gets a little white head milia thingie (for lack of medical term)...its like an iceberg with a whole lotta hell underneath. Some products will shrivel the little ones, others do nadda. I'm 62 and have been dealing with this for 7 years....and have made long scars all over my face because those areas are constantly inflamed. The part I dont get is that it sort of makes a border of those plugs and continues outward....so is it also inflammatory response and not only hormonal?
I don't know how a diuretic is helpful....will look into it.
Thanks for the response.
Spironolactone is an anti-androgen, not just a diuretic. it is commonly used to treat acne and other conditions.
and yes-- it is inflamed / enlarged oil glands. the oil glands get filled up with dead cells and grow to 10 times their normal size. that's why when people pick them out, the sores heal.
but if you don't pick at them in the first place they are usually no bother.
they can't be "popped" like a pimple. you can't pop the inflamed oil gland out of your skin. but if it comes up the surface it is possible to pluck out with tweezers.
a dermatologist can zap them with an electric needle with minimal scarring/
I call SH as sebaceous glands gone Hulk i have to do more research over and above to get the right wording to get the answers I need. I'll look into the spironolactone research as well.
Thanks...
Also to ask.....how long is the plan for you to be on the spiro?
In reply to Also to ask.....how long is by snipzie
I started out with 50 mg spiro in the morning and 50 mg at night and it cleared up my skin in 2 weeks! Skin stayed completely clear at that dosage for 2 months. Unfortunately it also lowered my blood pressure to 80/50, so I had to cut back on it.
I then tried 25 mg in morning and 25 mg at night but my skin got progressively worse over the course of a month and was back to pre-spiro shape within that time.
I am now trying 50 mg at night only. that seems to be doing better than splitting it up between a morning and night does. and taking it at night i am not getting the headaches i was getting when I was doing a morning and night does at 50 mg. I have only been doing this dosing schedule for about a week and my skin is already clearing up. I have an appt in a few weeks to check in and talk more about how long i can stay on it and what to do after that. i can keep you posted if that helps.
I also get milia and other acne like bumps, and have found that for cycstic type bumps-- the ones that are big and red and painful but never really come to a head and pop-- that putting some sulfur on them for like 15 minutes and then washing it off makes them go down within 1-2 applications of the sulfur. it's amazing stuff!
I am also looking into natural rememdies like pepermint oil, etc to see if something like that might be a longer term solution....
Interesting....definitely keep me posted!
Interesting....definitely keep me posted!
Hi...have no idea how I posted twice, and the rest of my response didn't.
I can't even imagine blood pressure that low! I think I'd be comatose, lol.
Did you have blood tests for androgen levels?
I have some Bye Bye Blemish...the wash is nice, and the topical drying stuff has sulphur and zinc in it. It has helped some, but certainly not stopping the plugs from forming. I still think it has something to do with inflammatory response since it creeps outward for some of the lestions and not all. It's a frustrating process, but options have me excited about it.
I've just started on a calcium channel blocker for blood pressure in conjunction with micardis....maybe a future med could be the spiro in place of the calcium blocker. The duo purpose could be a nice help.
What sulphur product do you use?
q